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Listen to noted Tour Guide, Lecturer and Yad Vashem Researcher of Jewish History Yehuda Geberer bring the world of pre-war Eastern Europe alive. Join in to meet the great personages, institutions and episodes of a riveting past.
For speaking engagements or tours in Israel or Eastern Europe
Yehuda@YehudaGeberer.com
Episodes
Monday Feb 03, 2020
Monday Feb 03, 2020
As one of the last members of the "old school" style Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Refoel Shmuelevitz (1937-2016) was indeed a unique breed. Warm, personal and caring, he was also sharp and demanding in learning. Down to earth and cognizant of the world around him, he nevertheless occasionally expressed unconventional views. Unafraid to speak his mind and not subscribing to a specific pervasive ideology, he represented the old time aristocracy of Lithuanian Yeshiva world which had nurtured him.
In honor of his yahrtzeit, we present some personal reminisces of this great man.
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You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com
Saturday Feb 01, 2020
Saturday Feb 01, 2020
One of the oldest dynasties in the history of the Chassidic movement, was also one of the pioneers to strike roots on American shores. Karlin-Stolin - which also had one of the oldest Chassidic communities in the Land of Israel - was a unique group back in Europe as well.
One of the sons of Rav Yisroel Perlow (1869-1921), (the "Yenuka" of Stolin), Rav Yaakov Chaim (c. 1897-1946) answered the call of the Karlin Chassidim in the United States and immigrated in 1924. A fatherly figure, he died childless while visiting his followers in Detroit. He was soon followed by his only surviving brother Rav Yochanan (1900-1955), who arrived in 1947. Between the two of them, the foundations of the rebuilding of Karlin-Stolin were laid in the new world.
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You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com
Thursday Jan 30, 2020
Thursday Jan 30, 2020
History has bestowed it with the title of "Mother of the Modern Yeshiva". The Yeshiva movement - from it's European antecedent to the current times - is seen to be a continuation of what was begun in Volozhin. What was Volozhin? Why is it considered a new beginning? Is it's perceived influence justified?
An examination of the Jewish world at the time of the founding, as well as the development of the institution of the Yeshiva through history, is imperative to understanding the unique contribution that the Volozhin Yeshiva made in Jewish society. A full appreciation would be incomplete without relating the story of the founder - the great Rav Chaim Volozhiner (1749-1821). It was his vision and deeds that made it all a reality.
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You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com
Tuesday Jan 28, 2020
Tuesday Jan 28, 2020
Though Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik (1879-1941) and his wife Pesha Feinstein (1880-1967) achieved renown as parents of Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, they led quite interesting lives on their own merit as well. Born in Volozhin as a scion to the aristocracy of the Lithuanian Torah world, a merger was made with the Feinstein's, another member of the Rabbinic elite. Pesha had a dominant personality, and as a result their home became quite unique.
After a Rabbinic career was cut short by the Bolshevik repression of religion, Rav Moshe experienced a stormy decade from all directions while residing in Warsaw. In dispute after dispute, he displayed a brilliant if iconoclastic image. In the late 1920's he assumed the position of Rosh Yeshiva at RIETS on the Lower East Side, a position he maintained till his passing.
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You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com
Saturday Jan 25, 2020
Saturday Jan 25, 2020
A landmark event in Jewish History of the 19th Century was the infamous Damascus Blood Libel of 1840. What seemed to be part of the distant past of the medieval era, was revived in a modern day conspiracy. Jewish leaders were arrested and tortured, and a great outpouring of fury ensued.
Jewish leaders like Moses Montefiore and Adolphe Cremieux, converged on Egypt in an attempt to influence the regional ruler Muhammad Ali Pasha. Although the affair was resolved as a result of a direct British ultimatum, the saga would go down as a test of Jewish solidarity in modern times.
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You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com
Thursday Jan 23, 2020
Thursday Jan 23, 2020
For the American Jewish community, President Roosevelt seemed almost Messianic. The New Deal was worshiped as the wave of the future, American Jews were overwhelmingly liberal - even Socialist - Democrats, and he seemed to be the only hope against the isolationist Republicans, for future intervention in the European War. In many ways, the American Jewish establishment, with Rabbi Stephen Wise at it's helm, felt that the President was beyond criticism. But was he?In the late 1930's, and even at certain stages of the war itself, a refugee crisis faced many Jews trapped in Europe. Was Roosevelt the man of the hour to ease immigration policy for these refugees? What went on throughout the War between the President of the United States and the Jewish People- both at home and abroad?
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You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
The interwar period saw a Golden Age for the Telz Yeshiva in Lithuania. Under the strong leadership of Rabbi Yosef Leib Bloch (1860-1930), the Yeshiva grew and spawned an entire empire of educational institutions. High Schools, girls schools, Teacher's Seminaries, Kollel and more were all part of the great Telz infrastructure. As a powerful speaker, R' Yosef Leib and later his son R' Avraham Yitzchak (1891-1941) played a role on the national level as a leader in the Agudas Yisroel. Telz developed a unique intellectual brand of Mussar, which was given over as "Shiurei Daas". In honor of the recent yahrtzeit of Rabbi Mordechai Gifter (1916-2001), one of the greatest products of the Telz Yeshiva, here's another installment about this immortal institution.
Check out the history of Telz Yeshiva part I: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/e/innovative-methods-rebellious-students-the-stormy-early-years-of-the-telz-yeshiva/
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You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com
Saturday Jan 18, 2020
Saturday Jan 18, 2020
One of the most unique educational methodologies of character perfection in recent history, was the Talmud Torah of Kelm. With it's emphasis on orderliness, clarity and an intense pursuit towards perfection, Kelm became a legend in its own time. While it may be difficult to summarize the philosophy of Kelm, relating some anecdotes can be a fascinating journey into the inner world of Kelm. These stories are interesting, some of them entertaining, and all of them offer penetrating insight into the lives of those who were part of the world of Kelm. In honor of the yahrtzeit of one of the greatest products of the Kelm Yeshiva - Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler (1892-1953) - here is a collection stories about this storied institution.
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You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com
Wednesday Jan 15, 2020
Wednesday Jan 15, 2020
In the high strung divide between the religious and secular in the State of Israel, few stories express the point of conflict more than the "brother & sister" saga of the Langer children. Seemingly they were mamzerim and consequently unable to have a Jewish marriage. The question then arose if their father was a convert to Judaism or remained a non-Jew. The controversy spilled over from the confines of the Rabbinical court to public and even political discourse. Rabbi Shlomo Goren convened a new Bais Din and enabled them to marry. This brought the fury of the establishment Rabbis against Rabbi Goren, and the great controversy continued to boil for some time.
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You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com
Tuesday Jan 14, 2020
Tuesday Jan 14, 2020
In 1947 a book was published in Jerusalem bearing the title "Kol Hator". It ascribed Messianic overtones to the immigration of a group of students of the Vilna Goan nearly two centuries earlier, with the accompanying claim that they were the original Zionists. The book itself was allegedly written by R Hillel Rivlin, one of those talmidim who came during that period. But was it? Who really wrote the book? What motivated the author? Why did the students of the Vilna Goan - and the earlier Chassidic Aliya for that matter - move to the land of Israel at the turn of the Nineteenth Century? Was there immigration a Messianic or Nationalistic endeavor? And most of all, how is that legacy a relevant story today in the tense polemics of both scholarly as well as public discourse?
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You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com